Lioness icon Fara Williams calls for more resources to support women's football
Former Lioness and BBC pundit Fara Williams has joined forces with M&S Food to help female players improve their nutrition and show why it’s so important they fuel themselves properly.
With the 2023 Women's World Cup now underway, the Eat Well, Play Well campaign aims to shed light on an issue rarely talked about in the development of the game. Research shows that female athletes, including footballers, are often under fuelled when participating in sport due to a number of factors, including body image and the pre-conditioned belief they should be skinny over strong.
Williams, who amassed over 170 caps for England during her playing days and represented top WSL clubs including Chelsea and Arsenal, has called on the sport to keep shedding light on the issue and the need for more resources devoted to the nutritional needs of female players.
"When I first started out there was zero education and knowledge around nutrition," she exclusively told the Mirror . "I had lots of carbohydrates, thinking it was the sole component of my diet I should be having to perform. Towards the back end (of my career), they started to bring nutritionists in, especially at elite international level.
"This is why I'm so excited about what M&S are doing, partnering with the FA, to educate even further. Not just about elite football, but day-to-day life. Especially for females, to have that balanced diet and fuel in the right way to perform.
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"At times in my career I definitely fuelled correctly and what was when I didn't care about how I looked. The times I cared too much about my image was the times I definitely under-fuelled and I underperformed. Eat well, play well is huge in terms of having a different perspective on the importance of nutrition."
Research shows cultural norms, fear of weight gain and lack of nutrition understanding are key factors for women under-fuelling their bodies. England forward Alessia Russo recently opened up about her own relationship with food in an interview with Women's Health Magazine, admitting she hit a low point during lockdown in 2020 and wasn't strong enough to play football.
M&S Eat Well Nutritionist Sophia Linn, who shaped the Eat Well, Play Well partnership with the FA, highlighted the importance of education at all levels of the game, from elite football to grassroots. "In women's sport what we do see is people tend to under-fuel and it's something that's a real concern when we want to think about player's performance and reducing their risk of injury.
"There's a number of different nutrients we need to consider. Calcium supports bone health and iron, particularly during the menstrual cycle. Carbohydrates are so key, particularly in the run-up to matches. We need to make sure people understand that they need to eat the right things to play well and perform at their best, and educate at not only the elite level but at grassroots and the wider football community."
M&S' Eat Well health seal of approval can be found on thousands of M&S products across their Foodhall and is only given to products meeting evidence-based nutritional criteria. It's also inspired by the eating habits of England's much-loved heroes, with recipes including Ella Toone 's favourite post-training meal, sweet-and-sour chicken.
Research has shown that the cost-of-living crisis has made it harder for people to make healthy choices when shopping, highlighting the significance of more budget-friendly options.
"At M&S we have our Remarkable Value range," Linn continued. "Making sure we've got products that have trusted values but are also more affordable. It's also worth remembering, in a balanced diet, choosing things that are tinned or frozen can be cheaper alternatives but are still really nutritious."
M&S Food is partnering with the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland national football teams to use the power of football to inspire families to make healthy eating delicious, easy and fun – and to help make the next generation of families healthier under the banner ‘Eat Well, Play Well’.
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